Cocoa's Corner: Forum Version

So I started a blog to track my progress, post recipes, and talk about studies (I do like picking through them and finding out what they actually determined, basic issues with the methodology, etc... which is how I ended up here), and I called it "Cocoa's Corner." I posted in the introduction section a few times a while back, but I hadn't posted outside of there. I wanted to actually start eating more primally before I posted here again. Basically, I wanted this to be my first post outside of that section.

I'm not going to repeat a whole lot of what I post on my blog here, nor will I repeat a whole lot of what I post here on my blog. Instead, I'll summarize the significant portions:

I'm always shocked when I see pictures of when I was very young, because I was very skinny. I have, however, been fat for as long as I can remember. There have been some gaps in my weight gain (most significantly when I was homeless... possibly the only time I actually lost weight), but for the most part, it's been steadily on the rise. Well, about a year and a half ago, I started getting obsessed with nutrition in a way that only an autistic could. I had tried to lose weight in a number of ways (including combinations of ways) and nothing had worked, but this obsession with nutrition was a blinding flash of enlightenment (I shouldn't misuse that term, but oh well). Before I had come to this site, I had come to much the same conclusions (for the most part) that are found here. I did find a lot of information which I did not previously obtain, however, and primal is a very good plan (I especially like the emphasis self-experimentation).

That said, I will not be going fully primal... not right away, anyway. I just can't afford it. I will be going grain- and sugar-free, using grass-fed meat products (not dairy or egg just yet for reasons into which I will not go), using animal fats instead of oils (except for olive oil for salads), cutting out processed foods (including using unfiltered honey), and eating more meat (though still not an ideal amount) and veggies. And, because of weight issues, I will be cutting back on carbohydrate intake (no starches, just fruits, nuts, veggies, a tiny bit of honey, and a bit of milk).

Speaking of those weight concerns, I bet you're wondering how much I weigh. Well, I was skimming through some other journals, and you better get ready for a doozy: My total weight is 435.8 lbs with 47.4% body fat and 31.6% muscle (I... I like to walk). My mother is rather better off in the weight department, with a total weight of 319.9 lbs, 48.7 BFP, and 26.9% muscle mass. I also seem to have rather high blood pressure (borderline hypertension), according to the machine I used (which seems to be fairly accurate). Oh, right. Did I mention that my mother was doing this with me? Well, she is. She's also 61 (edit: Because I forgot to mention it before, I'm 26), so you can understand that I really want this to work for her (thanks to my research, I am confident that it will).

Now, I will be tracking my progress in a number of ways (those measurements are just a few ways I'll be tracking my progress), but as I will be exercising, practicing Tai Chi Chuan (though technically exercising, it also has other benefits to it), and some other things, I can't say from a scientific point of view whether or not the diet had a positive impact on me. That doesn't mean that I doubt its efficacy (research is a beautiful thing), just that I really can't claim that it's 100% because of the diet.

I think that's it, really.

Also, beware: If you enter these gates, I may very well accidentally try to convert you to Taoism or into a brony. It happens, you know?

Oh, right. I'm fairly sure the link is in my signature, but I'll provide a link to my blog here:

So... I was reminded to post this topic by something that happened today.

Let me tell you: Keto-adaptation sucks.

Today, I had such a terrible headache, troubles concentrating, nausea, and some small loss of energy. Since dinner (about 2 1/2 hours ago), I haven't felt it, but I feel like it's on the edge of coming back.

Oh, and for dinner, I had a taco bowl (grass-fed ground beef mixed with all sorts of flavorings, an onion, and some garlic with a bit of cheese, lots of leaf lettuce, and some tomato on top... it's sooooooooooooooo good).

Welcome to the Primal life. Thankfully the ill feelings get less and less as your body switches over and they go away within a week or two.

Thanks for the welcome!

My symptoms haven't been so bad this morning. I had reduced my carbohydrate intake for a few months prior to this, but not nearly to this low level, so whether it's because of that (I'm hoping that's the case) or because it's the morning, and now because I just eat breakfast, I don't know. I do have a bit of a headache and nausea, but it's not like it was yesterday is all.

I like your signature. Obsessed is not the term that autistics use amongst ourselves. Most autistics I've met tend to prefer to call them special interests, but obsessed is a more familiar term for most people. You have no idea how hard I've worked to convince people that the second is true (though I've never heard that quote before).

Updating the journal:

I really need to figure out a way to cut back on the almond flour that this recipe uses (I think the best way would be using coconut flour). My breakfast biscuits (not an everyday thing) had a grand total of 1 1/4 cups of almond flour for four (two each for my mother and me). I know almonds are nice*, but that amount can't be good. I'm thinking that replacing some with coconut flour might be a better idea. Any ideas on that? I'm thinking that it would be 1/2 cup of almond flour and 1/4 cup of coconut flour would be good. That seems to be the conversion of almond flour:coconut flour. I guess I'll have to see about the flavor, but I don't think it should be a problem.

I used to post on forums with this kind of setup, but recently, I've only been posting on a chan-type forum. Adjusting to not using a different image for each post is quite... strange.

First attempt at almond flour biscuit crust pizza was... not exactly a wondrous success. My mother liked it, but I found the flavors in the pizza sauce to be too... I don't even know how to describe them. This is largely my fault. I didn't figure the difference in using fresh tomatoes vs. canned properly and I didn't start on it until far too late, so I ended up with a mediocre batch. That said, I will be using a different recipe next time, one that actually calls for fresh roma tomatoes and foregoes the carrots and celery (it's just the tomatoes, onion, olive oil, herbs, and salt).

And, this time, I'll remember to add the beef stock (I... kind of forgot last time).

The almond flour biscuit crust could use some work as well, but it should be fine next week.

Oh, and I need to help my mother understand what "processed food" means. It was her job to pick up the cheese and she went ahead and got pre-shredded mozzarella and provolone.

To be fair, I was actually working on schoolwork until 12 AM and then had to get everything else I needed to do that day done after that. Of course, that just underscores the importance of sticking to my schedule (had I done so, I would have easily finished all my schoolwork).

Well, anyway, this morning I had pseudo-crepes. Pseudo-crepes because, let's face it, those crepes were way too thick to be crepes. They were more like... scrambled eggs with a bit of coconut flour. I'll be making them soon again and I think I'll do a little better. Additionally, I'm going to make an altered version of the berry crumble (tomorrow, I think) recipe found in Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals and reserve some of the berries to spread in the crepes.

So I finally figured out why you don't find boneless thighs or boneless drumstick meat (aside from the fact that people love to eat drumsticks as drumsticks).

Removing those meats from the bone is hard.

And, to make matters worse, I lack any sort of decent cutting knife.

So for this week and next, my mom and I will be eating dark and white meat for our chicken salads. After that, though, it will just be the breast and I will boil the rest of the meat with the rest of the stock things (reserving it for a soup to be made with the stock).

But this chicken. Oh my goodness, this chicken. I think this was the first time I ate chicken that wasn't fed exclusively grains, soy, and things like that.

It was so delicious.

Oh, and I'm making the stock tonight, which means that I'll be going to bed... VERY late. Again.

I also bought some buttermilk at the store because my plans to make ranch dressing from mayonnaise (I found a recipe that called for mayonnaise and no sour cream or buttermilk) kind of fell through when I ended up with... well, a miniscule amount of fat from the nitrate-free bacon (REAL nitrate-free bacon, not the stuff that says it is but has celery juice extract) compared to what I need. Well, it didn't fall through so much as it will be delayed.

So I guess I'm in a transitional period. I will be for the next three to four months at least.

Still, I've removed a lot of unhealthy things from my diet and added in a lot of healthier things. I tested by blood pressure today and my systolic has gone down by 10 (insert whatever measure they use) since Thursday. I think that part of that is due to testing variance, but that's still pretty amazing.

That chicken stock took so long. I took a couple naps while it was cooking, but I still only got about an hour and a half of sleep last night. By the time it was done, it was time for breakfast, so I made crepes again, with a few slight alterations.

Oh.
My.
Goodness.

I want to eat nothing but crepes for the rest of my life. They are so delicious.

Okay, I want to go on a rant about how awesome they are, but I won't. After that, I finally went to bed and woke up at 4 PM (that's sure to help my schedule issues!). So... I missed lunch. Afterwards, had chicken and dumplings (the dumplings didn't turn out so well). It was delicious.